Clamp for bundling, servicing and supporting cables, wire lines and other control lines

ABSTRACT

A body is molded from elastomer, preferably polyurethane, and has a hinge at one end of the body between the two arms which make up the body. A pair of metal inserts are embedded within the arms of the body, respectively, and are positioned such that three bolts can be turned to bring the two arms closer together to clamp whatever control lines are positioned between the two arms. The two arms are molded such that there is a slight separation of the two arms until the three bolts are torqued up to cause the elastomer arms to distort and firmly clamp the control lines being clamped. The two inserts, as well as the three bolts, are preferably fabricated from stainless steel but may also be fabricated from other metals, or from very hard plastic.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

The invention relates generally to the field of clamping devices forsecuring hydraulic, pneumatic and electrical control hose bundles andvarious other control lines, such as a wire line and also controlmechanisms for being able to control subsurface equipment from aoffshore rig or offshore vessel. However, the invention has otherapplications, and can be used to clamp hoses, control lines and the likein various other applications.

One or more hoses or tube bundles used in oil well drilling andproduction is typically made up of a plurality of individual or singleline electrical lines or pneumatic or hydraulic hoses bundled togetherto make a compact design and having a plastic outer sheath. The diameterof the hose bundle varies with respect to the desired number and size ofhoses utilized. Typically in an offshore drilling operation such abundle is used to transmit hydraulic or pneumatic fluid under pressurefrom control equipment located on an offshore oil well platform to awellhead control system, or to a control pod for a sub-sea blowoutpreventer stack. The hose or tube bundle is flexible and generallyextends for several hundred up to several thousand feet or more. Becausethe tube bundle is flexible and must extend several hundred feet or morefrom a surface platform to a control pod or a blowout preventer stack,it is necessary to attach the tube bundle to some type of supportstructure, which may be a cable, choke or kill lines or some supportingmember of various tubulars such as a riser.

It is known to attach the tube bundle to a series of clamps spaced alongthe extended cable. A type of control hose clamp known includes twoclamping sections, often pivotally connected by an exterior hinge andhaving an over-center or off-center latch securing the control bundleand the wireline between the two sections. Such control bundle clampsare manufactured in various sizes to conform to the various sizes oftube bundles utilized.

As offshore platforms and floating drilling rigs have ventured intodeeper waters, the environment has become more of a problem to operatingsub-surface through control hose bundles. The currents may be worsebecause of depth or even because of the area and the temperature of thewater may even be a negative factor to the life of the control hosebundle. A light polyurethane that is utilized as the outer coating onsuch tube bundles has a tendency to get torn up. The tube bundles areextremely expensive, and since it may be necessary to shut down adrilling rig if a control hose bundle is damaged to the extent that thecontrol pod may not be operable, maintaining the integrity of thebundles is a very important consideration.

In the known type of hose bundle clamps, the metal arms of the clampoften will degrade the tube hose bundle around the clamped portion asthe marine forces cause flexing of the intermediate sections of thecontrol bundles. The effective weight of the clamp becomes a very bigfactor when using the clamps in very deep water. It is a very well knownfact that solid metal weighs essentially the same whether in the openair or submerged in water. If one places a metal clamp every twenty tothirty feet along a depth of five to ten thousand feet, such clamps mayadd an additional twenty pounds of weight at each of those twenty-footlocations. This additional weight can be a very negative factor. Theelastomer body clamps, according to the present invention, having metalinserts embedded in elastomer bodies, weigh considerably less whensubmerged in water than in open air. As an example, the clamp may weightwenty points in the open air and five pounds when submerged in water.This differential is of course governed by the amount of water displacedby the elastomer clamp having metal inserts embedded therein.

It is also known in the prior art that the prior art clamps usedfrequently are more complex and are manufactured from a multiplicity ofpieces.

It is also known that with prior art clamps, they frequently fail toprovide a uniform clamping pressure upon hoses or control lines beingclamped.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is an isomeric, pictorial view of the clamp according the presentinvention;

FIG. 2 is a top plan view of the clamp illustrated in FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is an elevated, isometric view of a metal insert which is used inthe clamp according to FIGS. 1 and 2;

FIG. 4 is a top plan view of the flange located on the clamp illustratedin FIG. 3;

FIG. 5 is a side, elevated view of the insert illustrated in FIG. 3;

FIG. 6 is a elevated, isometric view of a second metal insert which isused in the clamp according to FIG. 1;

FIG. 7 is a top plan view of the top flange of the insert illustrated inFIG. 6;

FIG. 8 is a side, elevated view of the insert illustrated in FIG. 6;

FIG. 9 is an end view of the insert illustrated in FIG. 6;

FIG. 10 is a top plan view of the clamp illustrated in FIG. 1, having indotted lines the metal inserts and passageways through the body of theclamp illustrated in FIG. 1;

FIG. 11 is a top plan view of the mold which is used to mold the clampillustrated in FIG. 1, and having the inserts illustrated in FIGS. 3 and6 positioned within the mold prior to pouring the elastomer mixture intothe mold;

FIG. 12 illustrates a top plan view of the two inserts which are placedinto the mold illustrated in FIG. 11;

FIG. 13 is an elevated view of one of three pins which are used to holdone of the inserts in the mold illustrated in FIG. 11;

FIG. 14 is an elevated view of one of three pins which are used to holda second insert which is placed into the mold illustrated in FIG. 11;

FIG. 15 is a top plan view of an artist's conception of the clampaccording to FIG. 1 and showing the two inserts in place within theelastomer body of the clamp and also showing three bolts which are usedto position the two halves of a clamp according to the inventiontogether; and

FIG. 16 is a side view of one of the three bolts which are used to holdthe two halves of the clamp together according to the present invention.

PREFERRED EMBODIMENT OF THE INVENTION

Referring now to the drawings in more detail, FIG. 1 is a pictorial,isometric view of the clamp 10 in accordance with the present invention.The main body 12 of the clamp 10 is basically of molded elastomerconstruction but has a pair of metal inserts enclosed within the body 12which are illustrated further hereinafter. The body 12 has, in thepreferred embodiment, four thru-ports 14, 16, 18 and 20. The largethru-port 18 is typically used to bundle an umbilical of a plurality ofelectrical, pneumatic and hydraulic lines (not illustrated). It shouldbe appreciated that any number of thru-ports can be included in the moldfor the clamp 10 and the four thru-ports 14, 16, 18 and 20 are shownmerely for purposes of illustrating the invention. The thru-port 20 canbe used to clamp around a wireline (not illustrated). The thru-port 16can, by way of example, be used to clamp around a winch cable (notillustrated).

The clamp 10 illustrated in FIGS. 1 and 2 also includes three bolts 22,24 and 26 which are used to pull the two halves 28 and 30 closertogether to clamp around the cables or control lines in using the clamp10 in operation. It should be appreciated that the term “arm” issometimes used herein as being synonymous with each of the two halves 28and 30. This is especially the case when the claims call for first andsecond arms which are joined together at their first ends by theelastomer hinge 32.

The clamp 10 has a molded elastomer hinge 32 which is an integral partof the molded elastomer body 10. In using the clamp 10, illustrated inFIG. 1, before the bolts 22, 24 and 26 are used to tighten up the twohalves 28 and 30 to clamp around the cables or other lines held withinthe thru-ports 16, 18 and 20, or even before the bolts are evenpartially threaded into the body 12, the halves 28 and 30 can be easilyrotated around the pivotal hinge 32 to open up the two halves 28 and 30as desired to clamp around the cables or other lines.

The present invention contemplates that the body of the clamp, includingthe two arms and the integral hinge, are molded from an elastomer. Asused herein, the word “elastomer” and any derivatives of that word aremeant to include any thermo-setting material, either natural orsynthetic, including natural and synthetic rubber, nitrile rubber, butylrubber, polysulfide rubber, TPO rubber and polyurethane rubber. Althoughthe preferred embodiment of this invention relates to the use of apolyurethane elastomer to mold the body, other such elastomers will alsofunction to serve as the body of the clamp, according the presentinvention.

Referring now to FIGS. 3, 4 and 5, there is illustrated an insert 40.The insert 40 includes a top flange 42 and a lower flange 44 and a plate46 between the two flanges 42 and 44. The top flange 42 is illustratedas a top-plan view in FIG. 4 but it should be appreciated that the lowerflange 44 and the top flange 42 are identical except as to theirlocation with respect to the plate 46. The flange 42 has a pair ofextension arms 48 and 50 and a semicircular center portion 54 betweenthe two ends 48 and 50. The plate 46 has three thru-ports 60, 62 and 64which pass through the plate 46 of the insert 40 for receiving bolts 22,24 and 26, described hereinafter.

FIGS. 6, 7 and 8 illustrate a second insert 70 which has a pair offlanges 100 and 102 and having a plate 104 between the two flanges.Flange 100 has two extending arms 94 and 96 and a semicircular portion98 there between. The first end portion of the plate 104 has a pair ofthru-ports 80 and 82 and the other end portion of the plate 104 has athru-port 84. The thru-ports 80, 82 and 84 are constructed to line upwith the thru-ports 60, 62 and 64, illustrated in FIGS. 3, 4 and 5.

The thru-ports 60, 62 and 64 are threaded and are sized such as to beslightly undersized with respect to the male thread 304 of bolt 300,illustrated in FIG. 16. Because the internal thread of thru-ports 60, 62and 64 is slightly undersized, the bolts such as bolts 300 have to betorqued up to pass through the thru-ports and can thus not easily fallout of the thru-ports 60, 62 and 64. This is a major advantage in thatif the bolts were able to fall out of the clamps, they could fall wherethey should not, such as into the wellbore or any of the other areasunderneath where the clamps are being used or stored. This type ofthread assembly is generally referred to as having a “captive thread”and as such, prevents the bolts either from being easily removed fromthe thru-ports 60, 62 and 64 or being inserted into such thru-ports.

It should be appreciated that the insert 70 of FIG. 6 is essentiallyidentical to the insert 40 of FIG. 3 other than for the fact of having athreaded boss welded into and lined up with each of the thru-ports 80,82 and 84 to threadedly receive a bolt. Although not illustrated, thethru-ports 82 and 84 also have such a boss such as the boss 110 tothreadedly receive a bolt, as hereinafter described.

Although some parts of the inserts are welded together, they may also bemade by well known casting processes.

Referring now to FIG. 9, the insert 70 is illustrated as an elevated,end view, in which the threaded boss 110 is more clearly illustrated. Inthe preferred embodiment of this invention, the boss 110 extends fromthe plate 104 out to the extreme dimension of the flange 100, asillustrated in FIG. 9. Again, it should be appreciated that thethru-ports 80, 82 and 84 each have a boss such as the boss 110.

Referring now to FIG. 10, there is illustrated a top plan view of theclamp 10, according the present invention as illustrated in FIGS. 1 and2, but which in FIG. 10 illustrate in dotted lines, the inserts 40 and70 embedded within the elastomeric body 12 of FIGS. 1 and 2. A thru-port120 leading through the elastomeric body 12 is aligned with thethru-port 60 in the insert of FIG. 3. A thru-port 122 in the elastomerbody 12 is aligned with the thru-port 62 illustrated in FIG. 3. Athru-port 124 is aligned with the thru-port 64 illustrated in FIG. 4.The thru-port 62 in FIG. 10 is aligned with a thru-port 63 in the moldedelastomer body 12. A thru-port 64 in the insert 40 is aligned with athru-port 65 in the molded elastomer body 12.

A thru-port 66 in the molded elastomer body 12 is aligned not only withthe thru-port 61 but also with the thru-port 80 and also with the boss110 which is not illustrated in this figure. In a similar way, athru-port 71 in the molded elastomer body 12 is aligned with thethru-port 82 illustrated in FIG. 6 into a threaded boss which is alsonot illustrated in this figure.

A thru-port 124 in the molded elastomer body 12 is aligned with thethru-port 64 illustrated in FIG. 5 which in turn is aligned with athru-port 65 in the molded elastomer body 12.

Another thru-port 67 in the molded elastomer body 12 is aligned not onlywith the thru-port 65 but also with the thru-port 84 illustrated in FIG.6 and also with a boss similar to boss 110 but which is not illustratedin this figure.

Referring now to FIG. 11, there is illustrated a mold 200 which is usedfor manufacturing the clamp 10 illustrated in FIG. 10. The mold 200 hasa rectangular shaped body 202, machined out of solid steel, and havingend walls 204 and 206 and side walls 208 and 210. In order to mold aclamp 10 such as is shown in FIG. 10, and which has a nominal height offour to five inches, the mold body 202 should be at least as high as theclamp 10. A partial cavity 212 formed in the top surface of the moldbody 202 has the same configuration as the exterior profile of the clamp10 illustrated in FIG. 10. Thru-ports 220, 222 and 224 are formedthrough the side wall 208 leading into the cavity 212 wherein thethru-ports 220, 222 and 224 all have a slightly larger diameter than thediameter of the pin 226, illustrated in FIG. 13.

The thru-ports 230, 232 and 234 are formed on the other side wall 210and lead from the exterior of the mold body 202 into the lower sectionof the cavity 212. The thru-ports 230, 232 and 234 are a larger diameterthan the diameter of the thru-ports 220, 222 and 224, and are sized tohave a slightly larger diameter than the diameter of the pin 236 in FIG.14.

The two inserts, such as the inserts 70 and 40, illustrated in FIG. 12,are suspended within the interior of the cavity 212, as illustrated inFIG. 11, and the three pins 226 are inserted into the thru-ports 220,222 and 224 to go into the three bosses which are located on the insert70. In a similar way, three of the pins 236 are inserted into the threethru-ports 230, 232 and 234 which in turn go into the thru-ports 60, 62and 64, illustrated in FIG. 5. The six pins together hold the twoinserts 40 and 70 in place within the cavity 212 and allow the elastomermaterial to go not only above the inserts 70 and 40, but to go aroundand under the inserts 70 and 40 so that the inserts 70 and 40 aretotally embedded within the elastomer material.

In addition, plugs are inserted into the mold at the position shown as250, 252 and 254. A much larger plug, which is sized to correspond tothe thru-port 18 used to clamp the umbilical, is used to plug up thethru-port 18. In addition, spacers 260, 262, 264 and 266 are used tomake sure that the two sides of the elastomer body 12 illustrated inFIG. 11 are not joined together anywhere except at the end which isidentified as the hinge 32, such as is illustrated in FIG. 10. Inmolding the clamp 10 according to the present invention, after theinserts 40 and 70 have been degreased, grit blasted and bonding agentapplied, and have been inserted into the mold cavity 212, illustrated inFIG. 11, the mold is then preferably heated to 215 degrees Fahrenheit inan oven (not illustrated). The curing oven is then set for 225 degreesFahrenheit and the mold with the inserts 40 and 70 held in place withinthe cavity 212, is placed within the casting oven to allow thetemperatures to stabilize.

The preferred castable elastomer polymer material which is to be used inthe clamp 10 according to the present invention involves the use of apolyurethane elastomer, available from Anderson Development Company,under the order number 80-5 and which is mixed with mboca, alsoavailable from Anderson Development under their ordering number Curcen442. After determining the total volume to be filled in the mold around,and under and over the inserts to complete the manufacture of the clampaccording the present invention, it is best to use 18.5 grams per cubicinch of volume to determine the total amount of the mixture of thepolymer and mboca which is required to fill the mold cavity. Aftermaking the determination of the amount of materials to use, the polymershould be heated to 210 degrees Fahrenheit and the mboca should beheated to 230 degrees Fahrenheit. When the polymer reaches 210 degrees,it should be placed into a vacuum chamber for ten minutes to remove anytrapped gases. After that vacuum process, the polymer and mboca shouldbe blended together using a mixer and a drill for approximately twominutes, or whenever the two fluids are completely blended together. Thecombination of the polymer and the mboca is then poured into the hotmold cavity and a timer should be set for the correct demold time,usually about 45 minutes. When the 45 minutes is up, the mold should bepulled from the oven, and the clamp according to the present inventionshould be removed from the mold. The demolded clamp should then be putinto a post-cure oven for sixteen hours at 180 degrees Fahrenheit.Thereafter, the clamp should be removed from the post-cure oven aftersixteen hours and cooled down to 70 degrees Fahrenheit. Followingstandard QC procedures, the molded part should be cleaned up and acalibrated durometer tester check should be used for reading of 80 to 86durometer on the A-scale. After these procedures, the clamp should beinspected for individual defects and the finished clamp should be thencompared with the design prints for final approval and shipped out tothe customer, or stored, as desired, but only after the three bolts 22,24 and 26 have been threaded into the clamp 10.

The two inserts 40 and 70, which are illustrated in FIGS. 3 and 6, arepreferably manufactured from 316 stainless steel, but can also be madefrom very hard plastic, or from any other metals which can be chosen tostand up to the environment found when operating in salt water from theside of an offshore rig or from a floating vessel, or such otherenvironment in which the clamps are to be used.

Although the preferred embodiment of the present invention contemplatesthe use of a molded polyurethane elastomer body to allow the two arms tofreely pivot around the hinge 32, and the two inserts and the threebolts which are used to pull and hold the two arms close together in theclamping position, are preferably manufactured from steel or some othersuch hard metal, it should be appreciated that when working on anoffshore rig, or a floating drill vessel, or in any other such dangerousenvironment, the safety rules sometimes require a “no spark”environment. In such an environment, the inserts and/or the bolts usedin the thru-ports 60, 62 and 64 can be manufactured, if desired, fromextremely hard plastic such as high density polyurethane, fiberglass,nylon, orlon and the like, and mixtures thereof, because to overstatethe obvious, the plastic bolts do not spark when coming into contactwith the plastic inserts. In an alternative embodiment, the insertscould be made from hard plastic but not the bolts, and vice versa.

Referring now to FIG. 15, there is illustrated what is essentially anartist's conception of the clamp 10, according to the present invention,showing the two inserts 40 and 70 embedded within the elastomer body 12and showing the three bolts 22, 24 and 26, which are used to pull thetwo halves of the clamp together which are pivoted around the integralelastomer hinge 32.

Referring now to FIG. 16, there is illustrated a bolt which can be usedwith the clamp 10, according to the present invention. In the preferredembodiment, the bolt is a ¾×3½ heavy hex bolt available from AmericanNational Standard which preferably is manufactured from 316 stainlesssteel. The bolt 300 has a hex head 302 and a threaded-end portion 304which threadedly engages each of the bosses used with the presentinvention such as, for example, the boss 110, which has a female threadto match the male thread 304 of the bolt 300 illustrated in FIG. 16.

The thread bolt 300 has a shank portion 301 between the hex head 302 andthe threaded portion 304 which has a lesser diameter than the threadedportion 304. This assists in keeping the bolt 300 as a captive withinthe clamp 10 because it allows bolt 300 to flop around after thethreaded portion 304 has been threaded through the thru-ports 60, 62 or64.

In the operation of the clamp illustrated in FIGS. 1-16 herein, the twohalves of the clamp 10, illustrated such as in FIG. 1, is opened up byhand and are swung open around the integral hinge 32. It should beappreciated that the hinge 32 preferably has no metal parts embeddedwithin the hinge itself and when the two halves are opened, the hingeshould operate many, many, many times without failure.

It should be appreciated that the clamp, according to the presentinvention, uses a hinge 32 which is believed to be somewhat new andimproved over other hinges known in the clamping art, quite aside fromthe remainder of this invention. The thru-port 14 illustrated in FIG.10, for example, which is not used to clamp any control lines or otherlines such as thru-ports 16, 18 and 20, is deliberately left open afterthe two arms of the clamp have been closed together by turning the threebolts. The application of additional torque to one or more of the threebolts causes the hinge 32 to be deformed downwardly, much as is shown bythe dotted line 33. This causes the two clamping arms to be brought intointimate contact and creates a strong clamping force on whatever controllines are held in the thru-ports 16, 18 and 20. This action essentiallycauses hinge 32 to collapse which is believed to be the reason theelastomeric hinge 32 operates so well.

After the two halves are swung open, whatever cables, hoses or lines, asdesired, should be within the thru-ports 16 and 20 and also within theenlarged thru-port 18 for the umbilical. The two halves are then rotatedback together, pivoted around the hinge 32, are then, because the bolts22, 24 and 26 are already captured within the thru-ports 60, 62 and 64,the three bolts are then threaded through the three bosses on the otherside of the clamp and continued turning of the bolts into the threadedbosses causes the two halves of the clamp to be moved closer and closertogether until the two halves are caused to deform, including thedeformation caused by the collapse of the hinge 32, to fully graspwhatever cables and lines are being secured by the clamp. These clampswill find particular utility in deep water operations, for example,where water may vary between one hundred and ten thousand feet deepbeneath the offshore rig or floating vessel and it will be commonpractice to use these clamps every twenty to thirty feet along thelength thereof between the offshore rig and the sea floor where thecontrol lines are being used and are being controlled.

Accordingly, it should be appreciated the there has been described a newand improved clamp which can be used for bundling, securing andsupporting cables, wirelines and other control lines. The clampaccording to the present invention, in its preferred embodiment,includes steel or other hard metal inserts which are fully embedded andencapsulated by an elastomer body molded around said steel structures toprevent damage to such structures and to any control lines being bundledby the clamp.

The clamp also has features of using an elastomeric hinge having nometal, no moving parts and will not corrode, but will collapse when thetwo arms of the clamp are forced tightly together, which causes thehinge to distort and more firmly clamp the control lines passing thoughthe clamp.

The invention is also characterized by the ability of the clamp to beused in a non-sparking environment such as may be found on an offshorebarge or drilling vessel, or even on land drilling rigs where sparkscannot be tolerated.

The clamp is also characterized as being self-contained and having noparts or fasteners which can fall off and be lost in the wellbore orother areas.

Finally, the clamp has the ability to change the hardness of theelastomer body and also to change the size of the clamp and also theability to increase or decrease the force applied to the bundles beingclamped. The invention is also characterized by there being no galvanicaction because the only exposure on the outside of the clamp is exposureto a nonmetallic, elastomeric body.

1. A clamp for bundling a plurality of control lines, comprising: aunitary elastomer body having first and second arms, each of said armshaving first and second ends, and an elastomer hinge, which is integralto said first and second arms and which is integrally formed between afirst end of said first arm and the first end of said second arm; afirst insert embedded within said first arm and a second insert embeddedwithin said second arm; plurality of partially threaded fastenerslocated within said elastomer body which, when tightened, pulls saidfirst and second arms together to thereby clamp a plurality of controllines between said first and second arms.
 2. The clamp according toclaim 1 wherein said elastomer body is molded polyurethane and saidfirst and second inserts are fabricated from a material which is harderthan said elastomer body.
 3. The clamp according to claim 1 wherein saidelastomer body is molded polyurethane and said inserts are fabricatedfrom metal.
 4. The clamp according to claim 1 wherein said elastomerbody is molded polyurethane and said inserts are fabricated fromstainless steel.
 5. The clamp according to claim 1 wherein saidfasteners are metal bolts, each having a threaded first end and whichare fabricated from stainless steel.
 6. The clamp according to claim 5wherein said plurality of threaded fasteners comprises three stainlesssteel bolts.
 7. The clamp according to claim 1 wherein said first arm,said second arm and said hinge are molded as a single piece.
 8. Theclamp according to claim 1 wherein said first arm, said second arm andsaid hinge are molded as a single piece of polyurethane having a givenhardness and said inserts are manufactured from a hard plastic having agreater hardness than said given hardness.
 9. The clamp according toclaim 8 wherein said fasteners are fabricated from a material which isharder than the hardness of said polyurethane body 10-12. (canceled) 13.A clamp for bundling a plurality of control lines, comprising: a unitaryelastomer body having first and second arms, each of said arms havingfirst and second ends, and an elastomer hinge, which is integral to saidfirst and second arms and which is integrally formed between a first endof said first arm and the first end of said second arm; a firstthru-port in said elastomer body having a configuration defined by saidfirst and second arms, wherein said configuration is distorted bycausing said first and second arms to come together, and which isdistorted even more by forcing said arms one against the other.
 14. Theclamp according to claim 13, wherein said first thru-port configurationis circular prior to being distorted, but which becomes oval shaped as aresult of the distortion.
 15. The clamp according to claim 14 wherein asecond thru-port in said elastomer body has a configuration defined bysaid first and second arms, wherein said configuration is distorted bycausing first and second arms to come together and which is distortedeven more by forcing said arms one against the other.
 16. The clampaccording to claim 15 wherein said second thru-port has one or morecontrol lines bundled therein.